County-class Guided Missile Destroyer

The County-class was a class of guided missile destroyer, the first such vessels built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Sea Slug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air-defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war environment. They were replaced by the Type 42 and Type 43 destroyers in the air defence role.

Specifications

• Type: Air Defense Destroyer
• Service Period: 1962-2006
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 521 feet 6 inches (158.95 meters)
  • Beam: 54 feet (16.5 meters)
  • Draught: 21 feet (6.4 meters)
  • Displacement: 6,800 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 471
• Propulsion: 2x shafts, COSAG
  • 2 x Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 x geared steam turbines, 30,000 shp
  • 4 x Rolls Royce Olympus G6 gas turbines, 30,000 shp
• Range: 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 kilometers) at 18 knots (33.34 km/h)
• Speed: 32 knots (59.26 km/h)
• Sensor Suite:
  • Type 277/278 Air Search Radar
  • Type 965 AKE-1/2 Air Search Radar
  • Type 992Q/993 Surface Search Radar
  • Type 901 Sea Slug Fire Control Radar
  • Type 903/904 Tracking Radar
  • Type 170 Attack Sonar
  • Type 174/177 Medium Range Search Sonar (replaced by Type 184)
• Countermeasures:
• Armament:
  • 4 x QF 4.5"/45-caliber Mk.6 naval guns (2x2)
  • 1 x GWS.1/2 Sea Slug SAM Launcher (24 missiles)
  • 2 x GWS.21/22 Sea Cat SAM Launchers (8 missiles)
  • 1 x 4-cannister MM38 Exocet AShM Launcher
  • 2 x Oerlikon 20mm/70-caliber anti-aircraft guns
  • 2 x 12.75" triple torpedo tubes
• Aircraft Carried: 1 x Westland Wessex helicopter
• Aviation Facilities: Flight deck and enclosed hangar for embarking one helicopter

Unit Run

Batch One

• HMS Devonshire (D02)
• HMS Hampshire (D06)
• HMS Kent (D12)
• HMS London (D16) - sold to Pakistan as PNS Babur

Batch Two

• HMS Fife (D20) - sold to Chile, renamed BAC Blanco Encalada (D-15)
• HMS Glamorgan (D19) - sold to Chile, renamed BAC Almira Latorre (D-14)
• HMS Antrim (D18) - sold to Chile, renamed BAC Almirante Cochrane (D-12)
• HMS Norfolk (D21) - sold to Chile, renamed BAC Capitán Prat (D-11)